Amy Struthers

Assistant Professor
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
College of Journalism and Mass Communications

Amy Struthers, Assistant Professor, teaches promotional strategy, copywriting, and integrated marketing communication campaigns. She is the Archrival Faculty Fellow for Trend Research and is head of the Advertising Sequence. Amy’s research agenda includes work in public health messaging, particularly to teen audiences. She is part of an interdisciplinary team of researchers working on a $1.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) called The World of Viruses. The five-year grant will fund development and testing of innovative materials about viruses such as HPV and HIV/AIDS, which will be disseminated through non-traditional channels such as public libraries.

Amy works closely with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services on a collaborative project to develop and implement an effective campaign encouraging high school students to be more physically active and make better food choices. The campaign incorporates formative and summative assessment, and includes a strong research component, which is funded by a Layman Research Grant. A grant from the Nebraska Energy Center funds Amy’s work with colleague Jerry Renaud to develop materials about renewable energy options for Nebraskans and a promotional campaign driving citizen participation in policy discussions.

Prior to joining the CoJMC faculty, Amy was a marketing professional for 15 years for IBM and for a variety of programs at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She was the first full time professional Advertising Manager of the Daily Nebraskan. Amy graduated Phi Beta Kappa from UNL with bachelor's degrees in English, French and Comparative Literature and was a member of Mortar Board. She was a Newspaper Fund reporting intern at the Fort Worth Star Telegram. She earned a master's in French Language and Literature following her teaching in the French public school system. “When creating media, I ask myself, ‘How can I say it shorter and still be understood?’ ”